Computer networks have grown increasingly complex with the use of distributed client/server applications, mixed platforms and multiple protocols all on a single physical backbone. The control of traffic on the networks is likewise moving from centralized information technology (IT) departments to distributed workgroups. The growing utilization of computer networks is not only causing a move to new, high-speed technologies, but is at the same time making the operation of computer networks more critical to day-to-day business operations.
The growth in complexity and dependence on computer networks heightens the need for network management tools to design, build and maintain computer networks. The mix of protocols and vendors of installed hardware on many computer networks generally increases the difficulty of accomplishing network management. This problem may arise in planning or designing changes to a network, monitoring performance of a network, and testing the impact on performance of different hardware and software being installed on a network. The acquisition of data from network components for analysis may also be problematic.
A computer network, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) architecture, may be described as including a hierarchy of Access, Edge, and Core. Access circuits generally connect to a customer or Customer Provided/Premise Equipment (CPE), which access circuits may be multiplexed, integrated, or aggregated to Edge routers. At the Edge, different protocols may be combined by a network carrier or provider depending on their architecture into Core protocols, such as Internet Protocol (IP) and/or Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). In order to reduce the number and types of different routing and switching systems, a type of edge router device referred to as a Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS) or Multi-Service Switching System (MSSS) may be used. A Multi-Service Edge (MSE) system may be used, which generally provides protocol conversion from Access protocols to one or more Core protocols.
Furthermore, with the advent of multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) in large IP networks, the need and the challenge of making and acting on measurements regarding the traffic on the routers for normal operational support, capacity planning, network design and traffic engineering generally increases. An MPLS network typically uses two primary types of routers, a Provider Edge (PE) router and a provider (P) router. The PE router receives IP traffic from/transmits traffic to a local area network (LAN) and transmits it to a wide area network (WAN). The PE router is typically configured to add one or more MPLS labels to the IP traffic header of a packet before the IP packet (traffic) is routed to the P routers. These MPLS labels support “label switched routing.” The P router is configured to make routing decisions based on the MPLS label in the header of the packet to transmit the MPLS packet(s) across the WAN. When the packet arrives at the last P router (the Penultimate Hop Router) before the terminal PE router, i.e., is one hop away from the terminal PE router, the MPLS label is stripped from the header of the IP packet and the remaining IP packet is routed normally to the terminal PE router and ultimately to the final (or non-MPLS) destination.
Typically, network administrators generate matrices of traffic patterns between all PE routers. These matrices may be used to, for example, create new static label switched paths, evaluate the capacity of supporting transport links, forecast growth of traffic demands, support network models for design of new and revised networks, evaluate the effectiveness of quality of service (QoS) markings by examining the distribution of traffic as a function of MPLS EXP bits and the like.
Conventional methods use multi-protocol boundary gateway protocol (MP BGP) data to develop these matrices of traffic from one BGP PE to another. These methods may be successful in a homogeneous network, for example, where all the PE routers are supplied by a single vendor. Unfortunately, as discussed above, as the marketplace has grown, it is rare to find a single vendor PE network.